Update, 31 May: Solms Delta has released an official statement about the event, refuting allegations of racism. The estate claims that the staff involved were black, and therefore could not have racially profiled.

According to the thread, the young woman was asked to enter a separate room because she was under investigation. In the thread, Mhlongo describes a time of immense confusion and fear, in which she was searched and spoken over loudly in Afrikaans.

Solms Delta began trending in South Africa on Monday for all the wrong reasons

The patron subsequently learned that an employee had identified her as a woman who had been stealing bags from both the estate and Canal Walk Shopping Centre. When she asked where the evidence was, Solms Delta’s manager told her there was CCTV footage.

@solms_delta So basically I am under investigation for being a black woman that looks like another criminal black woman

Mhlongo’s story isn’t dissimilar to an incident last year that saw Cape Town restaurant Clarke’s under fire for alleged racial profiling. After being removed from the premises for no apparent reason, Nicholas Vries took to Facebook to express his disdain for the establishment. Clarke’s eventually apologised, but many still do not believe its version of events.

We have reached out to both Mhlongo and Solms-Delta for further comment.

Author | Julia Breakey

Julia is a UCT film graduate with a passion for dogs, media, and dog-centric media. If she's not gushing about the new television show that you need to watch, she's rewatching The Good Place (which you need to watch). More

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